Thursday, April 25, 2013

Conquering the lake, conquering my mind

Today I set a new record: 10.5 miles. I ran around Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City.


These are just some random running thoughts--because you have a lot to think about when you run for 2-plus hours!

* The funniest part of my run today was when I was alone by the dam and Oklahoma came on my playlist. I was singing out loud as I ran, and started laughing that I was singing "Oklahoma" in Oklahoma.

* I think the run would have been easier if I had run in the opposite direction because of the way the path leads around the lake.

* Only saw two runners--in my last couple miles. The OKC marathon is Sunday so all the runners would be in taper mode, not running so far.

* My playlist was finally longer than my run. All Broadway. I run better to that than anything.

* The temp warmed quickly, from about my ideal 48 when I began, to 73 when I finished--it was warm at the end but not unbearable at all.

* Humidity was low but my breathing did well, which was huge. My lower back and hips were the hard part today.

* This week before today I had run 10.5 miles, meaning I ran the same amount in one day, for a total of 21 miles. No run tomorrow, but I will do a short one on Saturday.

* I wore a light long-sleeved shirt, which is kind of baggy now because it was one of the first shirts I got when I started running. I have a bra-line tan/burn, and my face is the same. So that means I don't need any stinking foundation or powder tomorrow if I don't want any!

* The last time I ran ten miles my sleep patterns changed (have never returned) and I was exhausted. Partly today I wanted to push myself and see if I could change that exhausted part, tell my body it was doing more and that was that. (I sort of hope the sleep stays the same though because I have needed less than ever, and that's been nice.)

* My friend Julie lives in OKC. She is a fast runner who regularly runs Lake Hefner, which is how I found out about it. But one day she posted a running picture of her Garmin and mileage that was less than Lake Hefner's perimeter. Her caption was "Stupid mental block." She's run a number of half marathons but for some reason Hefner messed with her mind. She went back and did it, but that line stuck with me today. Why? Why was it a mental block for a fast and great runner? It had a weird effect on me, like it might impact me. Could I make it? It reminded me that running is, first, a psychological sport.

* This may sound "elitist" but it's not meant to be so don't get all mad at me! A major survey from Running in the USA just came out. It surveyed over 30,000 runners and their demographics, running habits, etc. It revealed that almost 78% of female and 74% of male runners are college educated. Honestly, at first I didn't get it, but I think it makes sense because while many "deep thinking" types of people don't choose to (or get to) attend college, many who love that mental exercise do, and it makes total sense that people wired that way would love running because it really and truly, for all it's hard work and physical strain, is a mental sport above all.

I think that's all for this record run. My body feels okay but apparently I have a set of feet prone to blisters, so I am glad I brought two pairs of shoes for my meetings. One pair fits just right, but I brought a pair that's a teeny bit too big because they have a lower heel and are a bit nicer. Now I will be taping my poor toes and wearing them.

2 comments:

  1. I am still so blown away by the fact that you get blisters. It has to be ULTRA humid or I have to have on the wrong socks (not even wrong shoes) to get them. I get them easily in all other shoes. It gets me every time.

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  2. It has a whole lot to do with skin types, you know? We just have different bodies. On that walk last year, a couple girls never got blisters, but most of them did. It's actually really typical. It's nice you don't but I also think the chance would increase if you ran 20-plus miles a week every week. I did NOT get any in between my last super long running week. There are a lot of factors. Read up on it. By the way, almost every dancer who dances daily for extended periods of time do too. I think it could be skin types but also, as you say, you run sometimes. The daily pressure isn't there. Be glad.

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